Welsh Feathers outlast the Thistles in an instant classic to begin the 2024 Celtic Cup.
7th November 2024
Wales have recorded a thrilling victory against Scotland in the opening match of the inaugural Celtic Cup at Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
The marquee matchup began at a frenetic pace and remained even throughout the opening exchanges. Each team had moments of sound play, interspersed with errors as both team’s adjusted to their counterparts’ style of play. The Feathers peeled off 4 consecutive goals midway through the quarter to lead by that number, however some great aerial work from Scottish defenders Emily Nicholl and Hannah Grant saw the Thistles take some momentum back right on quarter time reducing the Welsh lead to 2. 16-14 after the first quarter and the vocal crowd at Emirates settled in for the continuation of the battle.
The second quarter was more of the same as neither team gave ground. A very physical clash turned messy at times with players putting their bodies on the line at any cost. The circle match up between GS Emma Barrie and GK Leah Middleton was a feature. At the opposite end, the imposing target of Georgia Rowe began to tell as the Feathers closed the opening half with all the momentum. A 19-goals to 14 quarter for the Welsh gave them a commanding 35-28 lead at the main break.
Scotland adjusted the midcourt to commence the third quarter with Kelly Boyle coming on at WA, while Iona Christian and Hannah Leighton moved back to C and WD respectively. The changes paid immediate dividends for the Thistles as the lead was trimmed to 41-40 at the midway point of the quarter. Wales settled again in the back end of the stanza, although the quarter belonged to the home team to the tune of 14-10. After a riveting 15 minutes Wales took a 45-42 lead into the final quarter.
Feathers WD Vicky Booth saw her third opponent of the night with the introduction of Emma Love at WA for Scotland. At the other end, Feathers WA Beth Dyke played her distributing role to perfection, setting up player of the match Rowe (56/57) time and time again under the post.
The final quarter was one for the ages, two fierce rivals going back and forth. The Thistles may have won the quarter 14-13 but the Feathers held a one goal lead for the majority of the period and maintained their composure in a pulsating final five minutes to come out victors 58-56.
Starting Lineups:
Scotland: Emma Barrie (GS), Niamh McCall (GA), Iona Christian (WA – Co-Captain), Hannah Leighton (WD), Emily Nicholl (GD – Co-Captain), Cerys Finn (GK).
Wales: Georgia Rowe (GS), Phillipa Yarranton (GA), Beth Dyke (WA – Captain), Meg Pilkington (C), Vicky Booth (WD), Lucy Howells (GD), Leah Middleton (GK)
Scotland will take on Zimbabwe at 8.00pm on Friday while Wales will commence proceedings for Day 2 when they battle with Northern Ireland at 6.00pm. Matches will continue on Saturday to determine the finalists on Sunday.
All matches can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.
Shooting statistics:
Wales:
Georgia Rowe 56/57, Phillipa Yarranton 2/3
Scotland:
Emma Barrie 32/39, Niamh McCall 24/30
